Sand and Wind

It's a blowin' and a goin' out there today. Current weather shows the wind is sustained at only 38MPH, but gusting to 51MPH. It's so bad, I'm not going to go outside to fetch the camera out of my truck so I can take pictures of it to share you. BUT, don't worry, I won't leave you emptyhanded. How about some pictures of past wind storms.

Here is one from 2001. Back at the trailer house. Yup, that wind sure is blowin' out there.

Same day, different view. This one is the back yard. We didn't even live around any fields, this is just dirt off someone's pasture.

Now, you can't tell the wind is really blowing much in this one, but believe me, it was. November 2005. When the air force burned 3/4 of my ranch and almost my house. I was 11 days post-partum and was just me, Chance, and brand new Drew. Jeff had called me from town (he was hauling hay) and said he saw some smoke, wanted to know how close to us it was. I loaded the boys up in the truck to check it out, and it was about 6 or 7 miles away, shouldn't come anywhere near us. Well, the wind shifted and it came right for us! 30 minutes after I took this shot, we were evacuated in a cloud of smoke. Was a scary day for us all, the fire burned thru the cemetery, and came right to the back door of the school (which had been evacuated and the kids hauled to a church in town).

As a result of the fire above, there was no vegetation to hold the ground down. It was a dry, windy winter. Here's a sand dune after some of that wind. In some spots, the sand covered up part of the 5 strand barb wire fence, up to the 3 wire in places. Cows were just walking over it. The fence had to be torn down, the sand scraped away with a blade, and fence rebuilt. Seven miles of it.

Christmas 2007

Finally, some pictures from Christmas in Georgia.

Cousin Eddie has arrived!! hehhehheh!!! The camper wouldn't fit in the driveway and still allow people to park down there, so we parked it in the front yard!

Jenny with her mom (left) and Aunt Jan (right)

Shelby and Ch'ree had fun decorating a gingerbread house at Chuck and Katherine's house. They also managed to help some of the adults win SceneIt! by answering 2 StarWars questions correctly. That's my girls!!

Chance enjoyed putting a few of his own touches onto the gingerbread house, but I think he just enjoyed having one of the twins help him. Yeah, he knows what he's doing!

Drew of course didn't want to be left out of the action.

Christmas morning. Santa brought the girls just what they wanted!
Even though Santa brought Guitar Hero III for Chance and Drew, it seemed the adults had just as much fun playing it. Here is Jonathan jamming out.

And Drew trying his hand at it.

And later Jeff and Brian played Star Wars Battlefront II. Who says toys are for the kids!?

Ch'ree, Uncle Brian, Chance, Shelby and Drew all playing on the kitchen floor.

Jenny's lovely Gram.



Yummy!! Christmas Dinner was steak and stuffed lobster tail!
Jenny's "nieces", Mela and Zurie, who came down all the way from Maine.

Drew really took a liking to his "cousins", especially Mela.

Most of the gang. Jeff (holding Drew), Jenny, Ch'ree, Judy, Shelby, Wayne, Jesse and Holly.

Changes

After much thought, I've decided to make some changes not only around this site, but on the other web site for our family as well.

I'll be taking down the other site soon and will be switching everything to blog format. Just as soon as I get all the technical issues in doing that figured out. The web address to the other site (www.jandjessary) will direct you to this site soon. Or rather, the blog address will be changed to the other address soon.

But for you, reader, you won't have to change a thing. Because no matter which address you use, you should be directed right here (again, after the tech. issues are dealt with). And while I can't move stuff from the other site here in the format it is in, I will try to move over a few things that you, reader, may still find interesting into a blog format.

I've had the other site for about 7 years, and it's been fun to work on. But, all things must change, right?

Changes on this site will be minimal. I'll try to catagorize things in the side bar (like Kidspeak, and the farm stuff). Maybe add some recipies and some of my sewing, and of course pictures. Especially as I'm learning how to use my camera. Let me know if there are things that YOU may like to see.

Since this is the family website, I won't talk about things like current events or politics. Just family fun down on the farm (and other things going on in our lives). No venting or politics. Everyone is welcome here! (well, unless you are some criminal freak. And if that's the case, stay away from me and my children. I do keep firearms in my house, and I do know how to use them. Very well, I might add. My father-in-law will no longer shoot skeet with me).

And now as I come to the end of this post, I checked the old site and see that the changes have already took effect. So WELCOME FRIENDS, to the NEW J and J Essary website!

A Barn Is Born, Take Two

The barn has been done since we returned from Georgia, but I have hardly had time to add the pictures.

All done!! Well, almost. Jeff decided he really wants a slab in front now rather than wait a while, but after that, I think it will be done.

Here is Jeff, wiring in lights. He spent about 3 days putting in all his lights, power outlets for his welder and for regular 110 stuff. He also built a 12 foot work table, got a Craftsman roll a way tool chest, grinder, drill press, and a few other needed tools (or as I call them, toys. That gets him mad. He says, "They are TOOLS, not TOYS! I make a living with these!". I say, "Are you having fun with them?" "Well, yeah." "Then they are TOYS, not TOOLS!"

The kids love it, too. Some of Jeff's fondest memories of his childhood was the hours upon hours that he and his sister rode bikes in his dad's barn. He couldn't wait for his kids to do the same in HIS barn. Now he complains that it's like the Interstate during rush hour in there. LOL! Here is Drew with his ride of choice. He can't work the pedals yet, but he sure can scoot around on it!

Ch'ree of course has to strike a pose and model the new air compressor.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Sorry I'm late, folks. We had a wonderful Christmas here, and I hope you and yours did as well.

Anybody see National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation? Well, that's what we did. WE were Cousin Eddie. We managed to pull off the biggest surprise of them all and show up at my mother's house in Georgia totally undetected. It was about 1,200 miles one way, and with 4 kids 2-10, it wasn't easy. But they were troopers.

The plan was to park a few houses away from my mom's and walk to her door, ring the door bell and Christmas carols. I let my stepbrother in on the idea and he was SUPPOSED to make sure all was home after church that day. BUT, my mother INSISTED on going shopping with my sister-in-law, Holly. So, we showed up to a house with my mother absent. But my stepfather was asleep in the living room, and grandmother was home back in her suite. So it was a HUGE surprise to them. My mother finally got home from shopping (poor Holly had a heck of a time getting her to wrap up the shopping and get HOME). Imagine the look of surprise when she rounded the corner of her street and found an RV in the front yard!! LOL!

The surprises just kept happening. I wouldn't let them call my aunt to let her know we were in town (and she was hosting dinner that night). So we fixed some extra food and headed over there. Yup, she was shocked as well.

Christmas Vacation being one of their favorite movies (and some of the neighbors), there was a message on the machine of one wanting to speak to Cousin Eddie. And we couldn't disappoint them. So the next morning, Jeff donned boots over his pjs, put on a camo hat, and a beer, and trudged out to the curb with the un-attached sewer hose, calling to the neighbor who had stepped out to his porch, "Shitter's Full!!". Neighbor said that made his Christmas right there.

The week continued with Christmas eve candlelight services, a party, and of course Christmas morning. Big hits this year: The boys got Guitar Hero III for the PS2 (and it's FUN!!!), High School Musical Sing It for PS2 (it requires microphone and singing. I'll attempt it when school starts back).

And my big gift was a 20" flatscreen monitor for my computer! Very cool!!

We rounded out the visit with a day trip to my father's house (we weren't sure if the camper would make it up his muddy driveway, so we opted not to attempt trying it). Then headed home.

It was a wonderful Christmas. One my family won't soon forget. LOL! I have pictures, but the camera is still in the camper, and I am procrastinating unloading anything but essentials. haha!!